6.5 Creedmoor vs 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser Ammo Guide ballistics

[Gert Odendaal]

I am uploading some data about a comparison between the new 6.5 Creedmoor and the old vintage 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser.

[Gert Odendaal]

Here is a better view/pfd file
Comparison 6.5 Creedmoore, 6,5 x 55 Swede AmmoGuide Ballistic Comparison Tool.pdf
Keep in mind , these are USA based powders...

[Gert Odendaal]

Something interesting : when shooting the 160 gn bullet , the 6.5 x55 Swede is running ahead??? Would like some opinions in this regards?? Is the Swede the rifle to go to if you want to shoot a heavy bullet..making it a better hunting cartridge and the Creedmoor a better target cartridge>????

[pre 64]

Gert...I have both. The first couple of years that i used my old Swede was with Hornady 160gr round nose bullets.Many years ago i changed to 140gr Nosler Partitions and have never looked back.The 160gr's give no hunting advantage at all over the 140gr's.
A 140gr conventional bullet or a 120gr mono is what you need in the 6.5.
Makes no difference if it is launched from a Swede or a Creed.

[Messor]

Gert, I am slightly confused as to the meaning of the post, because for that you need to state the goal of the comparison.

One was designed as a service rifle that found favor among hunters for it's high SD bullets, one is designed purely for target shooting in relation to it's high BC bullets.

NEITHER is a perfect hunting cartridge.

In this day and age people blur the lines between hunting and target shooting, that is BS, hunting will never be long range shooting.
A modern 6.5 sweed does not shoot 160gr bullets, and a modern creed does not shoot heavy projectiles designed to penetrate heavy bone.
Even our most experienced hunter states the 6.5 creed or modern sweed is marginal for blue-beast.

You will find, everybody today advocates what they use instead of what physically makes sense. There is a good reason why some game-farms state 30 cal minimum, because even if the user screws up the bullet choice that bullet is still heavy. For example if you think the 143gr ELD-x is the bomb in your 6.5, which in actual fact is a poor choice for heavy game, if you make that same mistake in 308 you sit with a 178gr bullet.

Remember what your real gunsmith said, people and their ego's.

[Gert Odendaal]

Pre64/Messor, always great to get input from you members..what I noticed on the Lapua web page in regards to the 6.5 x 55 Swede , it is a medium range cartridge, shooting a hunting bullet out to 300 meters tops...coming from Lapua with their quality bullets really makes a statement...Messor, I posted the ballistic comparison to give members a chance to make some conclusion of their own ..if we are looking only at these graphs it seems the 6.5 x 55 Swede is stronger at shooting the heavier bullet...while the Creedmoor is doing better with lighter bullets usually using in target shooting..this is according to the graphs comparison...
I believe this data is valid since the program is a great source about all relevant ballistic data of about any caliber/cartridge known to man..
At least the numbers is making easy to crunch on...

[Gert Odendaal]

Gert...I have both. The first couple of years that i used my old Swede was with Hornady 160gr round nose bullets.Many years ago i changed to 140gr Nosler Partitions and have never looked back.The 160gr's give no hunting advantage at all over the 140gr's.
A 140gr conventional bullet or a 120gr mono is what you need in the 6.5.
Makes no difference if it is launched from a Swede or a Creed.

Pre64, at what distances do you hunt with your 6.5 x 55 Swede??

[Messor]

The numbers are rather easy to go on.

You shoot the same bullet.
The accuracy at hunting distances is irrelevant.
The sweed has the larger case capacity and can shoot the same bullet faster.
At the same MV the sweed will with suitable powders run at lower pressure.
The creed can be more economical with powder, but not in a way to make it more beneficial in hunting.
The sweed is going to last longer, lower pressure.
Cases in the sweed will experience less stress.

Gert, the thing is people tend to focus only on the numbers they compute in ballistic programs, but what does those numbers mean in a REAL hunting scenario? If you shoot 2000 animals, what is the cost of those animals compared to the rifle?

If you are a hunter, that only use the rifle for hunting, you might as well buy a 26 Nosler.
It's also a 6.5 cartridge, but for men.

[414gates]

There is nothing new in ballistics, it's all been done before. The innovation is in the platform, bullets, and available factory ammunition.

Creedmoor has evolved into a package. There are many cartridges that equal Creedmoor ballistics. There are many cartridges that can "do more" with the same powder, bullet, caliber, etc.

But here's the thing - when you buy Creedmoor you are buying a developed, evolved package. A convergence of industry innovation around these calibers. You are buying a platform that incorporates features that previously were only available on custom builds. You are buying a cartridge that is easy for the novice to learn with, due to the low recoil. You are buying a rifle for which match grade ammo is available from the major manufacturers.

There is no other package deal where a shooter can buy a rifle off the shelf, with factory ammo, zero the scope, and go shoot competitions - with success.

The greatest thing about this phenomenon, is that it is bringing hordes of new shooters to the rifle shooting sport, shooters that aren't inclined to reloading, and they don't have to be to get good results. The factory ammo is loaded to a much higher degree of consistency than is possible by reloading, and the rifles just shoot straight out of the box.

The phenomenon has expanded to include the older cartridges, like .308, .223, .260 and so on. The reason you can get an affordable 1000 meter rifle in .308 off the shelf today, is because of the industry innovation and developments that came about around Creedmoor. Ruger Precision is amazing. Sabbatti are on the bandwagon with very a good platform. Both of these cost the same or less than having a custom rifle built on a wooden stock, but not every custom rifle can shoot like those can. Howa remains cheap, and shoots great.

Because of the success of the Creedmoor, all the major manufacturers are competing to produce rifles with more features for precision shooting, increasing the value for the consumer.

When us old guys get into forum discussions on what Creedmoor is good for or not, the possibility is that the Creedmoor owner is young, has no interest in reloading, and has already bought accuracy off the shelf. Saying to someone like that cartridge XYZ is far superior is meaningless, because they don't see it on the shelf, ready to buy, sight in and go shoot competitions with factory ammo. And none of their precision shooting friends have one either. So understand why they laugh at us.

Wether any Creedmoor is a good hunting round or not is the same discussion that can be had for any of a hundred calibers from the .22 short and up. There will be those who insist on what it's good for, and others who will insist the opposite.

[TStone]

I have hunted a lot with both cartridges, there is no difference in their performance on game if you use the same bullets.